Kefi makes good progress in Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia

Gold exploration and development company Kefi Gold and Copper updated the market on operations in Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia in its fourth quarter on Monday, reporting that financing for the Tulu Kapi Gold Project in Ethiopia remained on track.

The AIM-traded firm said the project finance consortium would reach financial closing in March, and production scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022.

In Saudi Arabia, drilling was still extending the known mineralisation at the Hawiah copper-gold deposit.

“It is all systems go in Ethiopia where we remain focused on Kefi owning at least 65% of Tulu Kapi producing 190,000 ounces of gold per annum, with production starting in the fourth quarter of 2022, and in parallel we continue to advance our Saudi copper and gold discoveries,” said executive chairman Harry Anagnostaras-Adams.

“Drilling at Hawiah during the quarter has extended the copper-zinc-gold-silver massive sulphide mineralisation and confirmed the potential for a much larger mineral resource.

“The progress at Tulu Kapi and Hawiah coincides with a cyclical upturn in gold and copper, Kefi’s principal metals.”

Anagnostaras-Adams said that backdrop was “indeed refreshing” after a number of years of the sector being “in the cyclical doldrums”, and also timely given the firm’s host countries' proactive steps to boost their respective mining sectors and the preparedness of Kefi for rapid growth.

“We welcome the ongoing support and efforts of the Ethiopian government and also the implementation of new mining regulations by the Saudi Arabian government, which underpin our expectation that 2021 will be a year of significant acceleration by Kefi in both countries.”

At 1152 GMT, shares in Kefi Gold and Copper were up 2.45% at 1.88p.